Kamchatka 2016 – Solo volcano safari

Climb up the top of active volcano and stand on the edge of caldera really make my mind blow away!! The smell of hydrogen sulphide with all the sound of stream anywhere in front of you alone is really thing life-changing. From that moment, I fall in love this remote-end of Asia – Kamchatka, where is the place full of undiscovered wilderness.

The Craziness of weather

In my plan, I would like to summit 4 volcanoes around Petropavlovsk : Mutnovskya, Vilyuchinsky, Avachinsky + Koriyakskiy !! However, I managed to summit one of the volcano only – Avachnsky, which is the most easier peak to go! Indeed, the unpredictable weather with frequent rain make everything difficult and challenge. In here, the summit have to be right condition and precision time, which have very limited of window often. This is the game of Kamchatka!!

Paradise of hitchhiking – Friendly people in Russia

Hitchhike is so easy in Kamchatka, five minutes guaranteed someone would bring you on the road! The Kamchatka road is so bad which make your car journey more “adventurous”! Thanks for lovely Kamchatka people! It took me five stops to arrive the bottom of the volcano! First one is a hunter to search for water and inform me solo dangerous! Second is two men searching for hot spring to swim and told me a Japanese male killed by a bear ! Third is a rich family with land cruise 4WD to overtake any car on the bad road. The fourth one is a group of a worker on their way to Geothermal power stations. Fifth is a group of geologists with their tank pass by and picks me up! On the way, we go to hot spring too!

Failure attempt train up mental steel

Crazy wind storm in the open alpine steppe! Spend me one hr to find a bit sheltered place to set my trap by a little red fox led! It is a nightmare to rest in this condition! By myself to keep alert the bear and fox, keep repair the trap secured as the wind blow strongly. Eventually, I deadman whole trap into the ground under rain + snow + noise! Mental keep strong inside my + 5 summer sleeping bag and feel like naked with the sound of air movement rapidly! I do not feel regret to this crazy push! ” As I know my system; stress the system and rest my system” for making steel mental strength!! Thanks for craziness Kamchatka weather.

Special thanks for Ksenia Dementyeva and Alex Kumarkov take care very well in Kamchatka!! And, the first responder Kinga (Europe) and Lin (Asia) kept track me when I make this madness expedition.